Sheet material reprocessing apparatus for paper broke



Feb. 22, 1966 A WHITESIDE SHEET MATERIAL REPROCESSING APPARATUS FORPAPER BROKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 7, 1963 Feb. 22, 1966 A WH|TES|DE236,723

SHEET MATERIAL REPROCESSING APPARATUS FOR PAPER BROKE Filed May '7. 19634 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 22, 1966 A WHITESIDE SHEET MATERIAL REPROCESSINGAPPARATUS FOR PAPER BROKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 7. 1963 Feb. 22,1966 A. L. WHITESIDE SHEET MATERIAL REPROCESSING APPARATUS FOR PAPERBROKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed May 1963 United States Patent 3,236,723 SHEET MATERHALREPRQCESSING APPARATUS FOR PAPER BROKE Arthur L. Whiteside, Hamilton,Bermuda, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Improved Machinery lnc.,Nashua, N.H., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 7, 1963, Ser. No.273,574 5 Claims. (Cl. 162264) This application is acontinuation-in-part of Serial No. 8,158, filed February 11, 1960, andnow abandoned. The invention relates generally to apparatus forreprocessing paper, paperboard and similar fibrous sheet materials, andmore particularly to a system for reprocessing the defective material(broke) produced by modern high speed paper and board machines, and toapparatus capable of continuously reducing such sheet material to amanageable and economically processable form.

Modern high speed paper making machines are capable of producing papersand similar fibrous sheet materials in sheets over twenty feet wide atrates in excess of 2,500 feet per minute. Ordinarily operation of thesemachines is continuous, once the speeds and adjustments of its severalsections are synchronized for any specific grade and weight of paper orboard. When the sheet breaks within the machine or is otherwisedefective, and must be diverted from the finishing end, an expeditiousmeans for disposal of this broke at full rate is imperative. There areusually three or four points (broke holes) at the dry end of themachine, through one of which the sheet of paper is immediately divertedfrom the machine room to the machine room basement on the occurrence ofa break until the trouble on the continuously running machine iscleared. Typically broke holes are located at the last dryer, at thecalender stacks and at the reel. Conventionally disposal of theaccumulated sheet broke is by manual transfer to a broke heater or bysheet conveyor transfer to a repulper after reduction of the sheet broketo manageable sizes. The several, commercially available types of suchprocessing apparatus all operate in water submergen'ce to break down themechanical bonding agents used in sheet formation, thus recovering theindividual fibers for reuse and are comparatively sped in operation.

The high speed, high production capacity of modern machines on heavypaper and board, is presently far beyond the physical design limitationsof the conventional repulping methods and equipment. For example, duringa ten minute adjustment or correction of formation trouble in somesection of the continuously running machine operating at 2,500 feet perminute, a sheet nearly five miles in length and twenty feet in width,has to be diverted as broke. Such an operation on a 900 ton per daymachine would result in the accumulation of 500,000 square feet (on aweigh-t basis, over six tons) of waste sheet to be handled manually at alater time, or the provision of repulping apparatus capable of reducing1,250 pounds of waste sheet each minute. Present day dry sheet repulpingdevices of the largest size have ratings of less than half such ademand. In addition, such diverted wide, heavy sheet, travelling at thelineal speed of 30 miles per hour for example, is not in repulpable formas it is folded, lapped and crumpled so that it contains a substantialamount of entrained air and is substantially unwettable in conveyertransit; these conditions render the sheet non-submersible, except withmanual manipulation, into the defibering zone of presently designedpulpers. The physical space available under modern paper making machinesalso precludes the design of present types of conveyer pulp disposalsystems in much larger capacities than now considered maximum.

3,236,723 Patented Feb. 22,1966

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provideimproved apparatus for handling defective sheet materials such a brokeat rates commensurate with the production capacity of a modern highspeed paper making machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedapparatus for reducing broke, in all commercial form, to a size suitablysmall for pneumatic, hydraulic or mechanical transfer from the machinearea to defibering apparatus for final separation of the fibers into acondition suitable for reuse.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sheet materialreducing apparatus capable of expeditiously reducing broke into a formreceptive to thorough wetting and rapid absorption of water foreconomical and efiicient repulping.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus capable ofrapidly reducing a sheet of broke moving at high speed to torn patchesof a configuration such that they will readily absorb water for ease indefibering, and for handling such a sheet regardless of folds, thickplaces, or the like.

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a large highspeed shredding apparatus adapted to reduce broke furnished by a modernpaper making machine, a.

subsequently a small repulping device that is operated at.

a rate much slower than the production of broke for refining the patchesto fibrous state suitable for reuse. The preferred system includes oneor more shredding devices positioned adjacent broke holes, each of whichis adapted to immediately tear broke diverted from the paper makingmachine into patches. The small torn patches, which have fiuffy raggededges of exposed fiber tips, are deposited in a wet repulper conveyerfor immediate transport to wet patch accumulator chest. The broke isthen refined by conventional repulping devices. Thus the inventionprovides a novel broke handling system for modern high speed papermaking machines which accommodates, without requiring any manualintervention, the vast quantity of broke that is occasionally producedand utilizes conventional comparatively low capacity refining equipment.

In the shredding apparatus of the invention, a rotatable member, of alength in excess of the Width of the sheet material produced, ispositioned adjacent the broke hole with its axis perpendicular to thedirection of travel of the sheet. This rotatable member has amultiplicity of dull generally triangularly shaped teeth spaced aboutits periphery. A flat guide plate, positioned parallel to the axis ofthe drum and adjacent the teeth but spaced therefrom is utilized toguide the sheet material into a position adjacent the teeth. The guideplate has a resiliently controlled positioning mechanism forautomatically adjusting the position of the plate relatively to therotor in accordance with the thickness of material to be shredded tocontrol the space between the plate and the rotor teeth and to open morefully in case of a large bulk of material, to prevent jamming. Therotatable member is driven to provide a lineal tooth speed substantiallyin excess of the speed of the sheet material which is travelling acrossthe guide plate. Typically the shredder is idling at no load but fullspeed and thus is always ready for incoming sheets which may betravelling as fast as 50 feet per second from the point of break only afew feet away. Auxiliary equipment may be provided for the guidance ofthe sheet to the proper position on the guide plate. The apparatus isarranged so that the teeth hit the sheet material after it leaves theguide plate (at which point it is unsupported against bending andshear), burst through the material and tear it into a multiplicity ofsmall patches. These patches have torn fluffy edges which expose thefibrous interior structure of the material and thus facilitate waterabsorption and the subsequent mechanical refining of the patches intoindividual fibers in the repulping process. This apparatus requires lesspower than was required in prior attempts to solve this problem ofhandling massive quantities of broke by a cutting or shearing operation.Also this shredder apparatus does not require complex associated controlequipment and is much less expensive to maintain. Further, as thepatches are formed by tearing the fibers are exposed rather than sealedas occurs in a cutting operation and the material is refined much morereadily. The shredder apparatus according to the preferred embodiment ofthe invention is capable of adjustment to receive varying quantities ofmaterial and to shred it into suitably small patches. The torn patchesare then in suitable form for transfer to the next stages of therepulping operation which may either be storage, wet or dry, or directlyto a repulping apparatus depending on the type of material beinghandled.

Thus the invention provides a comparatively simple but highly efiicientsystem and apparatus which is capable of reducing broke and similarmaterials to a suitable form for transfer to repulping equipment atrates equal to the production speed of modern paper making machines.Other objects and advantages of the invention will be seen as thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments thereof progresses inconjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an end elevational view of the shredding apparatus accordingto a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the rotor element utilized in the embodiment ofthe invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of tooth elements utilized on therotor shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the tooth elements shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a tooth element taken along the line 55 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of a typical shredding operation;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a portion of a rotor element according to asecond embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 8 through 10 are a series of diagrammatic views showing theprogressive action of a tooth in separating a patch of broke and therelease of the patch from the tooth;

FIG. 11 is a semi-diagrammatic view of the spacing between a shreddertooth and the ductor plate when the apparatus is handling a single sheetof material with a relatively close nip setting;

FIG. 12 is a semi-diagrammatic view of the spacing between a shreddertooth and the ductor plate when the apparatus is handling thickermaterial;

FIG. 13 is an end elevational view of shredding paratus according toanother embodiment of the vention;

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic view of a machine room basement showing ashredder associated with two broke holes and with subsequent drystorage, conveyer transport and repulping apparatus;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic view of a second installation in a machineroom basement in which the shredder is associated with a continuouslyoperating repulping apparatus;

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic view of a complete conapin- 4 tinuous brokedisposal system which employs two shredders and associated wet repulperconveyers, accumulator chest and pulper;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a shredder and associated conveyer takenalong the line 17--17 of FIG. 16; and

FIG. 18 is a partial side view showing a modification of the structureof FIG. 1.

An end sectional view of one embodiment of the novel shredder apparatusof the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and a rotor utilized in thatapparatus is shown in FIG. 2. The shredder includes a housing 10 whichis mounted on a suitable support structure. The width of the housing issufiicient to accept without interference the width of the paper beingproduced on the associated paper machine, and in a constructedembodiment this dimension is in excess of twenty feet. Positioned withinthe housing is a rotor 12 comprising a cylindrical drum 14, twentyinches in diameter, which has stub shafts 16 (FIG. 2) secured to eitherend thereof. Pedestal bearings 18, of conventional design, are providedand associated with the housing 10 and the stub shafts 16 are supportedthereon, such that the rotatable member is positioned with its axisparallel to the general direction of sheet flow through the papermachine. Provision for connection to an appropriate driving motor 15 isprovided by belt and pulley drum 17 (FIG. 7) such that the rotor may bedriven at a suitable speed so that the peripheral velocity is severaltimes the speed of the paper. In the preferred embodiment this speed isup to seven times the paper speed depending on the characteristicsthereof.

Mounted on the surface of the drum 14 are a multiplicity of teeth 20that are not sharpened but rather are comparatively dull. These teethare preferably precision cast in continuous bars of groups of ten forexample, for the construction shown in FIG. 2 or groups of seven asshown in FIG. 7, so that dynamic balance may be more easily attained.These teeth are preferably secured to the drum by welding and areslightly spiraled or skewed relative to the drum axis as shown in FIG. 2so that as the last tooth in one row is tearing the broke, the tooth atthe opposite end of the next row is about to commence its tearingaction.

Each tooth has a substantially triangular front surface having inclinedsides 22 and 24 which terminate to form a blunt apex. In this embodimentthe teeth are two inches in height and there is three inches betweenapices. The front surface is inclined forwardly at an angle of 5. Thefront surface is slightly relieved at 26 to provide air cushion actionas hereinafter described to assist release of the torn patch from thetooth. A base portion 27 extends rearwardly of the front surface of thetooth and provides means for securely and rigidly mounting the teeth onthe drum 14. The teeth are secured so that the alternate rows arestaggered with the crests of the teeth in one row substantially alignedwith the valleys between the teeth in the next row. This arrangementproduces the preferred tear pattern shown in FIG. 6.

Secured within the housing 10 is a guide or ductor plate structure 28.This structure includes a guide plate member 30 which is mounted oncylindrical drum structure 32 which in turn is mounted on shafts 34. Theshafts 34 are supported by suitable bearing assemblies 36 secured to theend walls of the bearing 10. A plurality of ribs 38 securedperpendicular to the ductor plate lend reinforcement to the plate. Atthe outer end of the ductor plate 30 is a replaceable bar member 40which forms the front edge of the guide plate. Its minimum distance fromthe rotor teeth 20 may be adjusted for best operation by means ofadjusting screws on side wall channel structure 50. A pair of arms 44associated with drum 32 of the ductor plate structure are connected bymeans of linkages 46 to air cylinders 48 with their minimum returndefined by contact with screws 45. The cylinders are.

mounted on the side wall channel structure 5t Operation of the aircylinders pivots the ductor plate 36} about the axis of shaft 36 fromthe close nip position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 defined by theadjustment of screws 51 to the wide open position shown in dotted lines.Other means, such as springs 49 (FIG. 18) may be used to provide aresilient operating force for plate 30, in which case screws may beutilized to move the plate 30 to its open position, as well as toestablish its minimum clearance from rotor teeth 20.

In the wide open position sheet material may flow directly through theshredding apparatus without interference if and when such operation maybecome necessary. The side wall 52, opposite the channel wall 50 isperforated to reduce windage etfects due to the rapidly revolving rotor12, and in the preferred embodiment is a sheet of expanded metalsupported by ribs 54 and longitudinal members 56, 58. The assembly issecured with bolts and upon release of one of the members it may bepivoted as indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 1, for example, topermit removal of the rotor 12. An entrance aperture, provided in thehousing 10, is defined by walls and 62. The broke material to beshredded is fed directly through the entrance aperture onto the ductorplate 30 and into the vicinity of the toothed rotor 12. Sheet directingmeans such as air jets or water showers may be provided adjacent theentrance aperture and the rotor and a knockdown water shower pipe 64secured by U-bolts 66 is just beyond the shredding area.

The shredding operation may be understood with reference to FIGS. 6 and8l0. The sheet 68 of material to be shredded moves across theresiliently supported guide plate 30 and into the vicinity of therapidly moving shredder teeth 20. Shortly after the leading edge '70 ofthe sheet 68 slides over the edge of the end bar 40, it is contacted bythe plurality of shredder teeth 20, one of which is shown in FIG. 8. Itis to be noted that the sheet when it is first contacted by a shreddertooth is unsupported by the bar 40. The tooth tip, which is travellingat a speed that is more than twice as fast as the sheet, strikes theunsupported sheet and punctures it in a tearing operation as generallyindicated in FIGS. 6 and 8 at point 72. The tearing that follows thisinitial puncture moves generally along the path indicated in FIGS. 6 and9 at point 74 as the triangular shape of the tooth face determines theapproximate shape of the torn patch. However, the actual parting linesof the patches are in the Weaker areas of bonding materials so thatminimum damage to the fibers results and the resulting patches havefluffy edges 76 which expose the fiber tips. This type of patch sharplycontrasts with previous broke reduction techniques which utilize cuttingor shearing operations to reduce it to manageable size. Such operationssever the fibers and thus shorten many of them to distinctly inferiorlengths for reuseand the cut edge is substantially sealed against theabsorption of Water which is necessary in a wet repulping recoveryoperation. Further movement of the tooth relative to the sheet freeschevron shaped patches 78 from the broke sheet 76 as shown in FIGS. 6and 10. Where the speed of the teeth relative to the broke is less, aplurality of generally diamond-shaped patches are detached from the mainsheet. The general configuration of the patches thus is achieved throughthe combination of tooth face configuration, the relatively offset orstaggered location of the teeth in subsequent rows and the speed to theteeth relative to the broke sheet. The chevron shaped patches have along periphery and that entire length is characterized by fluffed,ragged edge 76 which exposes a substan tial portion of the interiorfiber structure of the patch. These edges have characteristics similarto that of blotting paper and readily absorb water to soften bondingagents, thus facilitating the saturated condition required forrepulping.

The recessed faces of the teeth provide a positive patch detachingmeans. As shown in FIG. 9 the patch tends to flatten itself against thetooth as it is torn with air being trapped behind it. This air becomescompressed as the tooth drives further against the patch but when thepatch is torn free this compressed air forces the patch away from thetooth surface thus freeing it. The detached patches then drop throughthe bottom of the shredder housing due to this inertia and under theinfluence of the knockdown shower 64- for subsequent handling asdetermined by the associated repulping equipment.

The pneumatic cylinder 48 or spring 49 enables an automatic adjustmentof the nip between the rotor and the guide plate. The material to beshredded, whether it be a single thin sheet, a thick sheet or a numberof sheets, is introduced through the entrance aperture and slides downthe ductor plate 30. The guide is resiliently loaded so that it willautomatically position itself relative to the rotor to vary theclearance in a manner dependent upon the thickness of the material to beshredded. Thus where the material is comparatively thin a close nip isprovided between the bar 40 and the teeth 20 mounted on the rotor drum14 as shown in FIG. 11. Where a thicker material is being handled, thereis greater clearance between the bar and the teeth as shown in FIG. 12.If the material should not be capable of being shredded by theapparatus, the apparatus permits the ductor plate to be pivoted so thatits free end moves in a direction generally along the cylindricalsurface of the roller in the direction of movement thereof and withprogressively increasing clearance between the free end of the plate andthe tips of the teeth so that the material is permitted to pass throughthe shredder without damage to any of the operating parts.

While specific dimensions and configurations of the shredding apparatushave been given it will be understood that these are for illustrativepurposes and various modifications thereof which do not depart from theinventive concept will be obvious. A somewhat modified construction isshown in FIG. 13. In this construction an additional confining plate 80is provided as an extension on the rotor housing member 50. This plate80 may be utilized to control and direct air movement so that the sheetmaterial 68 is properly positioned on the ductor plate 30. The barmember 40' is also provided with apertures 82 in it. In the vicinitybelow the guide plate there is an area of reduced pressure which isapplied through the ports 82 to the under-surface of the sheet 68 andtends to maintain it in contact with the bar 40'. Thus the sheet ofmaterial to be shredded is properly positioned relative to the guideplate structure and slides across that bar into the path of the rapidlymoving teeth to be shredded.

The shredder is perferable mounted adjacent the ceiling of the machineroom basement as shown in FIGS. 14-16. This positioning of the shreddingapparatus permits efilcient utilization of the space typically existingin a machine room basement for associated auxiliary equipment. Theshredder may be associated with two or more broke holes 84 as generallyshown in FIGS. 14 and 16 or a single broke hole as shown in FIG. 15.These broke holes are in the floor of the machine room adjacent thefinishing end of the machine and defective sheet material is divertedthrough them. A suitable chute 86 dependent on the position of theshredder relative to the broke holes may be provided to guide thematerial into the shredder entrance aperture. The patches resulting fromthe shredding operation may be collected in a suitable enclosure 88 asshown in FIG. 14 and held there in dry storage, to be conveyed bysuitable means such as a conveyor 90 to a pulping device 92. This systempermits the storage of a large amount of shredded broke in suitable formfor transfer to a conventional pulping apparatus at a rate commensuratewith the capacity of that apparatus. Thus the broke from the machine isproduced periodically at a rate much greater than the capacity of thepulper, shredded and placed in intermediate storage and gradually isremoved therefrom and treated by the pulping apparatus to reduce thematerial to its fibrous state for reuse in paper making. Intermediatewet storage may be utilized if desired, of course. Alternatively, theshredder may be positioned immediately adjacent a repul ing apparatus 94as shown in FIG. 15. That repulper may be of the type disclosed in mycopendiing application Serial No. 746,844 entitled Repulper filed July7, 1958 and now abandoned. That device includes a shaft 96 on which aplurality of uniquely shaped propeller devices 98 are mounted. Action ofthe revolving propellers on the shredded material reduces that materialto individual fibers for discharge through the conduit 100 at the bottomof the repulper. Such a system however would require approximately fourrepulpers of conventional size to be associated with a single shredderin order to be able to continuously process the amount of defectivesheet material that modern high speed sized paper or heavyboard machinesare capable of producing during a single break.

There is shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 a continuous broke disposal systemassociated with a high speed, high capacity (300 to 900 tons per day)paper making machine. The system is capable of handling =broke from thelast dryer 102, the first calendar rolls 104, the second calender ro-lls106, the reel 108, and continuous winder trim from a machine which isproducing sized heavyboard. Broke from the dryer or from the firstcalender rolls is directed through holes 84 and a chute structure 110 toa first shredder unit 112. Broke from the second calender stack on thereel is directed through holes 84 and a second chute structure 114 to asecond shredder apparatus 116. Mounted beneath each shredder unit is awet repulper conveyer 118, 120 respectively. Dilution water, supplied tosaid repulper units, wets the patches as they are deposited therein andplaces them in suitable form for transport. FIG. 17 is a sectional viewshowing the broke hole 84 associated with the reel element 108, therotor 12 of the shredder 116 and the notched screw conveyer 122 of thewet repulper 120 which has a center discharge 124.

The shredder rotors are idling between breaks of the full speed so thatthey are ready for instantaneous service. However the wet repulperconveyers operate only during actual breaks. It will be noted that thereis provision for diverting the broke directly to the machine roombasement, when necessary, by pivoting a wall portion 125 of the chute110 or wall portion 126 of the chute 114 outwardly.

When a break occurs the repulper conveyer associated with the activeshredder is started and the shredded Wet pulp patches are transferredthrough conduits 128 and 130 to a wet patch accumulator chest 132.Vertically positioned in the accumulator chest 132 is a repulpingagitator having corrugated propeller members similar to the typedisclosed in my aforementioned co-pending patent application, Serial No.746,844. This agitator is driven in rotation by a motor 136 and throughgear box 138 and maintains the patches stored in the chest in properagitated state with top to bottom turnover and in addition producespartial defibering of the wet patches. The continuous winder trim mayalso be introduced into the accumulator chest for fiber recovery.

The mixture stored in the accumulator chest is continuously transferredtherefrom in small quantities by a type disclosed in US. Patent No.2,674,927 issued April 13, 1954 to Wicksell and entitled Disintegratorfor Fibrous Materials. Upon completion of the refining process by thepulper the fibers recovered are transferred via conduit 144, for thereuse as desired. Finishing broke may be manually introduced into thepulper 142 through the broke hole 84 positioned directly above thatdevice. The system enables the processing of all broke that may beencountered in operation of modern high speed paper making machines andpermits utilization of repulping devices that can handle the materialonly at a much Cit slower rate than that at which the material isproduced during a break.

Thus the invention provides novel apparatus for the expeditious andeconomical reconditioning of defective fibrous materials for reuse. Theapparatus includes means for shredding the sheet material prior to arepulping operation and the preferred apparatus for this shreddingoperation includes a toothed rotor structure which is adapted to tear anunsupported sheet into small fluify edged Chevron shaped patches. Thesheet is guided to a position adjacent the toothed rotor by a ductorplate structure which may be adjustably positioned and is responsive tothe type of material being shredded. The shredding operation involves atearing of the sheet material which exposes the fibrous interior of thematerial and does not shorten fiber length or seal that interior, as isthe result in a cutting or shearing operation. Instrumentation iscommercially available for any degree of continual or automatic controlof this process and equipment, such as electric eye detection of breaks,valve operation, start and stop of drives and pumps and for consistenceregulation. This shredder may be incorporated as an integral part of acomprehensive fiber recovery system. While preferred embodiments of thisinvention have been shown and described it is not intended that theinvention be limited thereto or to details thereof and departures mav bemade therefrom within the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the claims.

I claim:

1. Fibrous sheet reducing apparatus for use in combination with acontinuously running sheet-forming machine comprising a housing, arotatable member mounted within said housing and having a multiplicityof dull teeth spaced about its periphery, a guide plate having a portionoperatively positioned adjacent said rotatable member, means to adjustthe position of said guide plate relative to said rotatable member tocontrol the space between said guide plate and said rotatable member,said guide plate being mounted on a shaft positioned generally parallelto the axis of said rotatable member, said adjusting means including apneumatically controlled guide plate positioning mechanism, means toguide a sheet of dry fibrous material of indeterminate length from saidmachine into said housing, and onto said guide plate into the vicinityof said rotatable member, and means to drive said rotatable member sothat the lineal speed of said teeth is substantially higher than thefeed speed of said material, said plate operatively being spaced fromsaid teeth so that said teeth hit said material when it is unsupportedby said plate and tear said material into a multiplicity of smallpatches such that said patches will easily absorb water during asubsequent fiber recovery process.

2. Fibrous sheet reducing apparatus for use in combination with acontinuously running sheet-forming machine comprising a housing, arotatable member mounted within said housing and having a multiplicityof dull teeth spaced about its periphery, guide means having a free endportion positioned adjacent said rotatable member, means for resilientlymounting said guide means for movement of its free end portion from aposition having a minimum clearance with respect to said rotatablemember in a direction generally along the surface of said rotatablemember in the direction of movement thereof and with progressivelyincreasing clearance between said free end portion and said surface forautomatic adjustment of said clearance in accordance with the thicknessof material to be shredded passing into said clearance, adjusting meansto adjust the minimum clearance of said guide means relative to saidrotatable member, means to guide a sheet of dry fibrous material ofindeterminate length from said machine into said housing, and onto saidguide means into the vicinity of said rotatable member, and means todrive said rotatable member so that the lineal speed of said teeth issubstantially higher than the feed speed of said material, said guidemeans operatively being spaced from said teeth so that said teeth hitsaid material when it is unsupported by said guide means and tear saidmaterial into a multiplicity of small patches such that said patcheswill easily absorb water during a subsequent fiber recovery process.

3. Fibrous sheet reducing apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein saidguide means includes a plate mounted for pivotal movement about an axispositioned generally parallel to the axis of said rotatable member.

4. Apparatus for use in combination with a high speed paper makingmachine having calender rolls arranged so that broke in sheet form maybe diverted through a hole in the machine room floor comprising a rotormounted beneath the machine room floor with its axis parallel to theaxis of the calender rolls, said rotor having an axial length at leastequal to the width of the broke produced by said machine, and. having acylindrical surface, a plurality of rows of dull teeth mounted on thecylindrical surface of said rotor, each said row being positioned at askew angle with respect to the rotor axis, and each row having aplurality of teeth therein, each said tooth having a front surface ofgenerally triangular configuration and inclined forwardly at an angle ofless than 90 to a tangent of said cylindrical surface, the teeth inalternate rows being aligned with one another and the teeth inintervening rows being positioned half way between the teeth in theadjacent rows to provide a zig-zag pattern of teeth in thecircumferential direction about the rotor surface, guide means having aguiding edge parallel to the axis of said rotor for guiding broke intothe path of said teeth, said guide means includes a ductor plate mountedfor pivoting movement about an axis parallel to said ro-tor aXis and apneumatic ductor plate positioning mechanism for adjusting the positionof said ductor plate relative to said rotor to control the space betweensaid ductor plate and the tips of said teeth, and means to drive saidrotor to provide a tooth tip speed at least twice the speed of the brokeso that the teeth tear the broke into Chevron shaped patches of uniformsize having fluffy, ragged edges which expose the fibers of said brokeso that absorption of water by said fibers is facilitated during asubsequent fiber recovery process.

5. Apparatus for use in combination with a high speed paper makingmachine having calender rolls arranged so that broke in sheet from maybe diverted through a hole in the machine room floor comprising a rotormounted beneath the machine room floor with its axis parallel to theaxis of the calender rolls, said rotor having an axial length at leastequal to the width of the broke produced by said machine, and having acylindrical surface, a plurality of rows of dull teeth mounted on thecylindrical surface of said rotor, each said row being positioned at askew angle with respect to the rotor axis, and each row having aplurality of teeth therein, each said tooth having a front surface ofgenerally triangular configuration and inclined forwardly at an angle ofless than to a tangent of said cylindrical surface, the teeth inalternate rows being aligned with one another and the teeth inintervening rows being positioned half way between the teeth in theadjacent rows to provide a zig-Zag pattern of teeth in thecircumferential direction about the rotor surface, guide means having aguiding edge parallel to the axis of said rotor for guiding broke intothe path of said teeth, said guide means includes a ductor plate havinga free end portion, said plate being mounted for pivoting movement aboutan axis parallel to said rotor axis, means for resiliently mounting saidguide means for movement of said free end portion from a position havinga minimum clearance between said free end portion and the tips of saidteeth in a direction generally along said cylindrical surface in thedirection of movement thereof and with progressively increasingclearance between said free end portion and said tips for automaticadjustment of said clearance in accordance with the thickness ofmaterial to be shredded passing into said clearance, adjusting means toadjust the minimum clearance between said ductor plate and the tips ofsaid teeth, and means to drive said rotor to provide a tooth tip speedat least twice the speed of the broke so that the teeth tear the brokeinto Chevron shaped patches of uniform size having fluffy, ragged edgeswhich expose the fibers of said broke so that absorption of water bysaid fibers is facilitated during a subsequent fiber recovery process.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 735,949 8/1903Conroy 22597 1,052,495 2/1913 McCellan 162-261 1,411,634 4/1923 Lambdin146-89 1,692,112 11/1928 Cram 162-264 2,113,297 4/1938 Ellis et a1.162-261 2,447,161 8/1948 Coghill 162-261 2,667,106 1/1954 Hyman et al.162-286 2,782,853 2/1957 Heifelfinger 83-72 2,830,772 4/1958 Martin241186 2,954,176 9/1960 Cole 241186 DONALL H. SYLVESTER, PrimaryExaminer. MORRIS O. WOLK, Examiner.

1. FIBROUS SHEET REDUCING APPARATUS FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH ACONTINUOUSLY RUNNING SHEET-FORMING MACHINE COMPRISING A HOUSING, AROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND HAVING A MULTIPLICITYOF DULL TEETH SPACED ABOUT ITS PERIPHERY, A GUIDE PLATE HAVING A PORTIONOPERATIVELY POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, MEANS TO ADJUSTTHE POSITION OF SAID GUIDE PLATE RELATIVE TO SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER TOCONTROL THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID GUIDE PLATE AND SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER,SAID GUIDE PLATE BEING MOUNTED ON A SHAFT POSITIONED GENERALLY PARALLELTO THE AXIS OF SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, SAID ADJUSTING MEANS INCLUDING APNEUMATICALLY CONTROLLED GUIDE PLATE POSITIONING MECHANISM, MEANS TOGUIDE A SHEET OF DRY FIBROUS MATERIAL OF INDETERMINATE LENGTH FROM SAIDMACHINE INTO SAID HOUSING, AND ONTO SAID GUIDE PLATE INTO THE VICINITYOF SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER, AND MEANS TO DRIVE SAID ROTATABLE MEMBER SOTHAT THE LINEAL SPEED OF SAID TEETH IS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THEFEED SPEED OF SAID MATERIAL, SAID PLATE OPERATIVELY BEING SPACED FROMSAID TEETH SO THAT SAID TEETH HIT SAID MATERIAL WHEN IT IS UNSUPPORTEDBY SAID PLATE AND TEAR SAID MATERIAL INTO A MULTIPLICITY OF SMALLPATCHES SUCH THAT SAID PATCHES WILL EASILY ABSORB WATER DURING ASUBSEQUENT FIBER RECOVERY PROCESS.